It was a night to forget for Mo Salah and Liverpool on Sunday at the Stade de France as they once again fell to Real Madrid in the Champions League. The loss to Los Blancos was even bitter as it came just a week after the Reds lost the Premier League title race to Manchester City by just one point.
In what was a gruelling season where the Merseyside club played more than 60 games chasing the quadruple, missing out on the main two titles by the slimmest of margins was a tough pill to swallow and it was seen on the dejected faces on the pitch in Paris.
Despite the 1-0 loss to a spirited Madrid side, Salah and Liverpool looked committed to ending the season on a high as the club rolled out the trophy parade to celebrate the League Cup and FA Cup wins from this season.
The traditional open-top red bus was spotted moving gracefully on the Merseyside streets, flanked on either side by a sea of Reds supporters who showed up in large numbers to back the team in this bittersweet celebration.
Jurgen Klopp, Salah and the rest of the stars were welcomed back home from Paris by the fans who chose to focus not on the immediate disappointment but rather on the overall season that was truly exceptional for the club.
However, while the players were spotted celebrating the domestic titles, Salah was spotted with a green beer bottle in hand which has caused confusion as the Egyptian does not drink alcohol as per the teachings of Islam.
The player has also revealed that he does not drink alcohol multiple times in past while in conversation with media outlets.
Back in December, Salah spoke about drinking being one of the challenges he faces while living in Western society in an interview with MBC where he also spoke out against any association with alcohol.
“I feel like I’ve never desired it. I don’t think about this a lot… People here don’t push you to do something you don’t want to do, and I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve been forced to drink. I myself don’t want to drink and I don’t want to try,” said the Egyptian.
It is very unlikely that Salah chose to break his rule for alcohol to celebrate on Sunday. The image could be even of the player enjoying a non-alcoholic beverage or even be a photoshopped image produced by rival fans in an effort to dampen Liverpool’s celebrations.
By all looks, the bottle appears to be Heineken 0.0, which as the name suggests, is completely alcohol-free. Plus it also appears to be closed.
Having gone through a roller coaster of a season experiencing both the highs and lows of football, Salah would not be looking to create controversies in this manner and would in reality be looking to get some much-needed rest and recovery before preparing for the next season.